Theory on how everything in Roshar ties together

[Kaurne]

I've hypothesised before that magic on Roshar has 3 gods sharing the surges between them:

 

I'd like to extend this - I was prompted to expand this by Kiwi's thread on symmetry here:

 

In addition, Brandon has said we've seen three kinds of Shardblade in tWoK

 

So here's my theory:

 

The Three Gods on Roshar share EVERYTHING.

 

They share their magic systems, which are accessed via different means but produce the same, or similar, effects.

 

They share shardblades, of which there are three kinds; Honorblades, Odiumblades and Cultivationblades. They are called 'Shard'blades because that is the catch all term for them - blades granted by Shards. Over time, the knowledge that they are separate has been lost, and they are merely referred to as Shardblades. I think the most common ones we see are Odiumblades, Taln has an Honorblade, and Szeth may have a Cultivationblade.

 

This is why symmetry is so important on Roshar. The Gods literally reflect each other - they share the powers and the abilities, and let beliefs be the deciding factor.

 

Now that I write that, though, it seems weird. Cultivation doesn't sound like the type to have Blades, and Cultivation's magic system, partly based on fabrials and partly based on something else (and maybe including the Old Magic, a 'cousin' of voidbinding), might not fit into my 3 gods sharing 10 surges idea, so what's the alternative?

 

Cultivation's magic is based on 10 because that's an important number on Roshar. However, The thing with Honor and Odium goes deeper than that.

 

I like to think that Honor and Odium are opposites. I know that a lot of people think Devotion and Odium are opposites, but I have previously speculated that we are misinterpreting the Intent of Shard based on one word names and that Odium is about creating division

 

With that in mind, I'm going to suggest that Odium and Honor made an arrangement (this might be part of the Oathpact) that changed the way their magic systems worked, making them opposites of each other. This might explain why 'Voidbinding' is referred to as seeing the future a couple of times - that's what it was based on before the arrangement. This explains why, even when Honor lived, there didn't seem to be crossover magic systems between the Gods - Honor and Odium agreed not to do that, which meant Cultivation couldn't either.

 

This is why symmetry is important on Roshar - Honor and Odium are, in one view, reflections of each other. Honor binds men together, Odium drives them apart. I reckon that they basically had an ideological conflict, and decided that instead of having a direct shard-to-shard fight, they were going to see which of their ideas, Honor or Odium, was more potent when wielded by men (and other sentients, I guess).

 

That is why their magic systems are (in my prediction) similar. It's because they wanted their conflict to be about the ideals, not the specific powers. This explains why they access the magic in different ways - because that's tied into the Ideals men follow.

 

I'm pretty sure the Heralds and the Unmade/Fools/whatever were part of this, but I'm not sure how yet.

 

Anyhow, the Oathpact was dissolved when the Heralds abandoned it in the Prelude. Honor didn't lose, then, I don't think - it simply weakened the Oathpact enough (Taln was still held to it, remember?) that Honor had to fight Odium shard to shard which he eventually lost at.

 

However, Taln has returned - the Oathpact can be salvaged, if the old Heralds return or others take their place. Honor told Dalinar in his last vision that Odium is bound by certain rules and must choose a champion. This relates to this, but I'm not sure how.

 

So yeah, that's how I think Roshar is set up, metaphysically. Feel free to tear this idea to shreds.

[Isomere]

I like your ideas on symmetry and think it is reasonable to have the oathpact enforce a separation/symmetry between Honor and Odium. Incorporating the Shardblade-for-each-Shard into this to create symmetry between the gods is a nice touch as well. Your theory seems to hold up against the information we have so far. 

 

I am firmly against taking the Vorin religion at face value, so I'd be careful using the "Voidbinding is future-sight" in your theory. There is just too much evidence that the truth behind Vorinism was lost because the Heirocracy or Sunmaker or XXX deliberately changed it to suit their political goals. I'd guess that someone was being subtly influenced by Odium to denounce prophecy in order to blind men to the upcoming Desolation that they should have been preparing for.